By Canadian Press

Concerns raised about COVID-19 quarantine rules for migrant workers

Apr 11, 2020 | 1:03 PM

OTTAWA — Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet is raising concern about temporary foreign workers arriving in Canada to work on farms, saying he believes the quarantine rules for these workers are inadequate.

The federal government has exempted migrant workers from COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions because of their importance to the Canadian economy.

Federal officials have said these workers will face health screening before travel and must isolate for 14 days upon their arrival in Canada.

But Blanchet says more than 100 temporary farm workers arrived in Quebec this week from Mexico, and he is concerned they are not being tested for COVID-19 upon their arrival in Canada and that their mandatory quarantine will happen on the farms where they will work, rather than in federal facilities.

He says the federal government is passing the buck of responsibility of overseeing this quarantine period and placing it onto the shoulders of farm owners.

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Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said temporary foreign workers are essential for food production and food security in Canada, and stressed that all of these workers are federally mandated to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Canada.

Freeland said the RCMP will be working with provincial and municipal police forces to help enforce the federal Quarantine Act and stressed that temporary foreign workers fall under the requirements of this act.

“This season is an essential moment for farmers to begin their work,” Freeland said.

“Temporary foreign workers, like all people, Canadian non-Canadian alike, entering Canada from another country are subject to mandatory, 14-day quarantine. The RCMP has announced yesterday … working with local police forces, (it) would be assisting public health in ensuring those quarantine measures, which are obligatory, are fully enforced.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2020

The Canadian Press